FBR Capital upgraded Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR) from Underperform to Market Perform with a price target of $25.00 (from $16.00) saying structural headwinds could be mostly offset by the impact of recent activist proposals creating a more balanced investment opportunity.

"In our view, the entry of activist investor Elliott Management into the JNPR story has changed the debate," analyst Scott Thompson states. "We continue to believe Juniper's 2014 top-line growth is likely to be below consensus estimates (FBR flat versus consensus of +6%), but believe that the resulting EPS impact could be offset by what is likely to be increasingly stronger demands for the company to be more focused on the routing market and return much of the company's $1.8 billion net cash to investors through buybacks and dividends."

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